"Recruits" arrive via helicopter, stay in private "barracks" suites overlooking the pool, eat in the five-star "mess hall," and can choose from a complete catalog of exciting activities ranging from hand-to-hand combat lessons to parachute drops to jungle survival expeditions.

The activities are led by Club Gung-Ho's team of experts, all ex-commados and military experts. "Recruits" are required to sign forms releasing Club Gung-Ho from all responsibility in cases of injury, dismemberment, or death.

A typical "tour of duty" is six days, from Monday through Saturday. The price is considerable, and while lodging and meals are included, ammo is extra and some of the more intense activities have additional fees. There are also a variety of "enlistment packages."

This is Club Gung-Ho from the outside. A place where rich men can go live out their childhood G.I. Joe fantasies while still enjoying the comforts and luxuries of a posh resort.

More amenities include a 24-hour casino, a gym and spa, masseurs, an in-room channel boasting nothing but war movies 'round the clock, a tabletop wargaming room, medical facility with an experienced trauma team, and a secluded beach (though it's best to avoid the Shark Hunting Lagoon on the other side of the island for swimming or sunbathing).

The real Club Gung-Ho is something much more. It is a secret training ground for mercenaries, a weapons market, and a venue for making connections. Need to hire an assassin team for a covert op? Need to get ahold of a backpack nuke? Club Gung-Ho!

The logo, available on T-shirts, caps, holsters, ammo belts, and about anything else you could want, is the words "CLUB GUNG-HO" in gold military font on a black background, with the final "O" being fitted with crosshairs.

Club Gung-Ho receives funding from a variety of governments and private foundations, as well as the fees paid by "recruits." The staff numbers over 500 people. Many of these are resort personnel (chefs, stewards, maids, waiters, gift shop clerks, etc.); about 60 make up the "Activity Team." The club also has an available contact pool of around 2,000 mercenaries and other specialists

The leading inner circle consists of four people, each of whom oversee a different aspect of the park:

Paul "Colonel" Cannonner -- an African-American man of indeterminate age, Paul is almost seven feet of raw muscle. He has a voice like an earthquake, and a scowl that suggests he disembowels people for fun. Under it all is a sharp and agile mind that keeps Club Gung-Ho under tight control. He has never been a real colonel, though his official record does show that rank. His motto is to do the best that he can and make others do the best that they can; he cares nothing for the politics of his recruits or his financers.

Tora Hawke -- the first word that comes to mind when seeing Tora is "Amazon." She is both busty and buff, showing off both in her work clothes of red ribbed tank top and khaki shorts. Her hair is a full kinky mane of black, her skin is bronze-olive. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations of the resort end of things, she puts her looks to use in ads and commercials (her

tagline is a challenging "If you're _man_ enough."). She excels at organization and accounting as well, keeping track of Club Gung-Ho's records.

Judge Halverson -- also known as "The Claw" but only behind his back, Judge has greying brown hair, a faceful of scars, and a stainless-steel mechanical hand at the end of his right arm. He was once one of the world's top special operatives but his failing health (a result of inoperable shrapnel and other souvenirs) has led him into semi-retirement. His main job at Club Gung-Ho is

dealing behind-the-scenes with the mercenaries and those who wish to hire them.

Inge Runolf -- if Tora is an Amazon, Inge is a Valkyrie. Tall and blond with pitiless blue eyes and a habit of talking through clenched teeth, she has all the warmth of an ice floe. She is an expert pilot and cares more about weapons than people. She despises weakness and incompetence, and tends to make her point with physical threats rather than persuasion.

Sample "Activity Team" member:

(Stats used are for GURPS)

Name: "Boom" Kostas, Club Gung-Ho Activity Team.

Mercenary, 56 years old, 5'10" tall, 230 lbs; iron-grey hair, brown eyes.

ST 12, DX 11, IQ 10, HT 12

Advantages: High Pain Threshold, Combat Reflexes, Fit, Fearlessness +2.

Disadvantages: Bad Temper, Missing Digit (Thumb), Pyromaniac (specific to explosions only).

Quirks: picks teeth with a sharpened sliver of bone; refuses to say where he's from; carries his "lucky" grenade.

Skills:

Teaching - 11; Brawling - 12; Fast-Draw - 11 (Pistol); Gunner - 11; Guns - 11 (Pistol); Knife - 11; Demolition - 15; Camouflage - 10; Swimming - 10; Scuba - 10; Underwater Demolition - 13; Explosive Ordinance Disposal - 14; Tactics - 10; Juggling - 8.

Languages: English - 12; Russian - 12; German - 11; Polish - 11.

Kostas (no first name) was born into an impoverished family in Eastern Europe. He doesn't talk about his past except to say that he left home to join the army as soon as he was able, and never looked back.

His area of expertise is blowing things up, and it is one of the only things he enjoys. The bigger the explosion, the better. He can disarm just about any type of bomb, but doesn't like to; even if it's about to take out himself and a group of friends, he'll have to be talked into it. He fully intends to die by explosion one day (though he's in no rush).

As a younger man, he used to amuse/horrify his buddies by juggling lit M-80's, right up until it cost him a thumb. The only reason he stopped wasn't because he learned his lesson but because the missing digit meant he could no longer juggle worth a darn.

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